Division III Women

Middlebury Sinks Defending Champ Gettysburg

from press release

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg College's
reign at the top of the NCAA Division III women's lacrosse world
came to an official end Sunday at Clark Field as Middlebury College
knocked the defending national champions out of the postseason with
a 15-9 victory in the regional championship game.

With the victory, sixth-ranked Middlebury (15-4) advances to
face top-ranked and unbeaten Salisbury University (21-0) in the
national semifinals on Saturday, May 19, at 1 p.m. on the campus of
Montclair State University. The other national semifinal will pit
SUNY Cortland (20-1) against Trinity (Conn.) College (19-1) at 4
p.m.

Gettysburg, ranked No. 3 in the latest national poll, closes the
season with a 19-2 overall record, tying the second-best season
mark in school history. Senior Hannah Church (Ellicott City,
Md./Mount de Sales) led the Bullets with two goals and two assists
and junior Lindsey Robinson (Potomac, Md./Holton-Arms) logged one
goal and two helpers.

The goalies set an early tone for the game with big saves in the
opening minutes. After controlling the opening draw, Gettysburg
went on the attack with Robinson coming up empty against Middlebury
keeper Lily Nguyen just 26 seconds into the game.

Senior Maddie Coleman (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) came
right back on the other end of the field, stopping Michaela
Colbert's free-position shot at 28:10. Gettysburg charged down the
length of the field and challenged Nguyen again, but Robinson hit
the crossbar and the very next attempt by freshman Bridget Kenny
(Gladstone, N.J./Bernards) was put down by the Panther keeper.

The visitors finally found pay-dirt almost 10 minutes into the
contest as Colbert connected on her second free-position attempt at
20:27.

The Bullets didn't let the lead last long, converting on a pair
of man-up opportunities. Kenny tallied the first goal off a feed
from Church at 17:45, and just 1:22 later, Robinson found sophomore
Bailey Beardsley (Union Bridge, Md./Francis Scott Key) to make it
2-1. Middlebury wasted less than a minute in retaliating as
Elizabeth Garry connected on another free-position attempt at 15:38
to tie the game.

Gettysburg turned in its largest lead of the game with
back-to-back tallies by sophomoreLoren Pruitt (Moorestown,
N.J./Moorestown) and Church to put the advantage at 4-2 with 9:26
to play.

The Panthers quickly regained the upper-hand, however, with the
next four goals, including three off free-position attempts. Garry
gave the visitors a 6-4 lead with her third goal of the half at
5:24. Kenny sliced the deficit to one with another man-up goal for
Gettysburg, but Liza Herzog scored with just 12 ticks left in the
half to set the score at 7-5.

The level of intensity grew exponentially in the second half as
the hosts attempted to overcome the deficit. Each time the Bullets
found the back of the net, the Panthers had an answer. After
Robinson pulled Gettysburg to 9-8 at 16:22, Emma Kramer scored yet
another free-position tally to push the lead back to two halfway
through the final period.

With Middlebury receiving another yellow card, the Bullets
pushed their player advantage and scored their fourth man-up goal
of the day as Pruitt connected on a free-position shot to pull the
score to 10-9 with over 12 minutes remaining.

After standing even off the draw for the majority of the game,
the Panthers stepped up in the final 15 minutes and won four
consecutive draw controls. Middlebury turned a pair of three-minute
possessions into goals with Garry giving the team a 12-9 lead with
6:12 to play.

Gettysburg forced a turnover on Middlebury's next possession,
but the Bullets came up empty as Lucy Jackson knocked the ball away
from Robinson and came up with the ground ball. Katie Ritter turned
in a man-up goal on a free-position shot with 3:56 to play to push
the lead to four.

Facing elimination, the Bullets pressed on the defensive end,
pulling the goalie to force double teams on the ball. The Panthers
made the hosts pay, netting two easy goals in the final
minutes.

Middlebury held the advantage in shots (29-27), ground balls
(18-9), and draw controls (14-12). The Panthers scored seven
free-position goals on 14 attempts, both season highs against
Gettysburg's defense.

Church's four-point day gave her 272 for her career and pushed
her into a tie for third on Gettysburg's all-time list. She also
closed her career second in goals (210) and 10th in assists (62).
Coleman finished the day with 10 saves and closed her tenure with
304 stops. She wrapped up her career in goal ranked sixth in career
save percentage (.531) and second in goals against average (7.37).
Gettysburg's only other remaining senior, Lexi Kelly (Ridley Park,
Pa./Agnes Irwin), posted one ground ball in the game.

Pruitt and Kenny each finished with two goals, the latter adding
three draw controls. JuniorHayward Sawers (Timonium, Md./St. Paul's
School for Girls) recorded one assist, two ground balls, and three
draw controls.

Nguyen finished with nine saves for Middlebury. Garry connected
on four goals, including three of the free-position variety. Herzog
netted three goals, and Margaret Souther and Colbert each posted
two. Herzog added four draw controls and four ground balls, while
Catherine Fowler picked up five draw controls.